9.00AM
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
THANKS for your company this morning. If you have something you'd like featured in tomorrow's rolling two-hour BathurstAM coverage why not email me at nadine.morton@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
As I sign off spare a thought for missing Sydney man Sevak Simonian, 21, who has not been seen since he left his parents' home at Belrose in Sydney's north about 8pm on October 20.
While many people have volunteered to help in the search, police have warned members of the public that only skilled bushwalkers should volunteer to join the search due to the dangerous terrain in the area.
8.52AM
COULD you help those who need it most?
This advertisement for Lifeline volunteers was spotted on page five of today's Advocate.
They are looking for more volunteers and will be running training courses in Bathurst next weekend, November 8 and 9.
Give them a call on 6331 7344 for more information.
Why not check out the Lifeline Central West page on Facebook to find out more about this great charity.
8.47AM
THE decision by Centennial Coal to close its Angus Place Colliery caught Bathurst MP Paul Toole by surprise.
"This has come out of the blue," he said. "It comes as a real shock to those families involved in the Angus Place operation.
"It is a shock to the workers, the government and the community."
Mr Toole is calling for Centennial Coal to be "mindful" of all the people who will be affected by this decision.
"I just hope that Centennial Coal is aware of what this decision will do to the families.
8.42AM
A SIGNIFICANT historical piece of the Bicentennial flag staff construction project, the monumental cairn at the Bicentennial River Park in Bathurst, will be temporarily removed from the area this morning.
The flag staff project is a key legacy event of the Bathurst 200 bicentenary celebrations, and commemorates the site where Governor Lachlan Macquarie erected his own flag staff in 1815, marking Bathurst as Australia's first inland European settlement.
The flag staff monument has been designed by Bialowas and Associates as a significant representation of Bathurst's rich history over the past 200 years.
For more information about the calendar of events and activities being planned, visit Bathurst200 online.
8.34AM
EACH Thursday the gig guide features in the Western Advocate with news on the latest acts coming to our region.
This week's guide features Adam Harvey, local DJ B-Dub, Stonefield and The Big Guns of Country with music by Johnny Cash, John Denver and Glen Campbell.
Pick up a copy of today's Advocate and flick to page 23 for more information.
Why not jump visit the Advocate's online entertainment section to read about celebrity, movies, books and television from further afield.
8.29AM
THE countdown has started with just 100 days to go until the Bathurst 12 Hour.
The event has broken through the 50 entrants mark on the day celebrating the commencement of a 100 day countdown to Australia's international endurance race next February.
Check out the full entry list for this awesome event.
The 12 Hour is on from February 6-8, 2015.
8.20AM
TWO men have been charged after police raided five properties near Bathurst seizing firearms, ammunition, explosives, drugs and cash yesterday.
Strike Force Patto, comprising detectives from Chifley Local Area Command, was formed in July 2014 to investigate the sale and supply of firearms and prohibited drugs in the area.
On Wednesday, October 29, officers from Chifley Local Area Command, with the assistance of police from Orana, Mudgee, Canobolas and the Dog Unit, conducted five search warrants at premises in Bathurst, Kelso and Mount Rankin.
During the search of a business on Lambert Street in Bathurst police located nearly 200gm of methylamphetamines.
A house on Casey Circuit, West Bathurst was also searched with police seizing further amounts of methylamphetamines as well as cash.
Police also searched a storage container at a property on Toronto Street, Kelso where they located nine rifles, railway detonators and explosives, canisters of OC spray, a stun-gun device, large amounts of ammunition as well as computers and electronic equipment believed to be stolen.
The entire container was seized by police with the contents to undergo further examinations.
Two men, aged 32 and 39, were arrested during the operation and taken to Bathurst Police Station where they were spoken to by investigators.
The 32-year-old man from West Bathurst was charged with 27 offences including possess unregistered firearm, not keep firearm safely, goods in custody, supply prohibited drug, possess prohibited drug, possess ammunition, deal with proceeds of crime and possess prohibited weapon.
He was refused bail to appear in Bathurst Local Court today.
The 39-year-old man from Mount Rankin was charged with supply prohibited drug and granted conditional bail to appear in Bathurst Local Court on Monday, December 1.
Investigations by Strike Force Patto are continuing.
Police have urged anyone with information in relation to this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
8.12AM
A LANDMARK possum skin cloak healing workshop is to take place at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery from tomorrow.
Possum skin cloaks are one of the most sacred cultural expressions of Aboriginal people; and for the past fourteen years, Lee Darroch and Vicki Couzens of Banmirra Arts Inc., have led the possum skin cloak revival across Southeast Australia.
Banmirra Arts Inc., in partnership with the local Aboriginal Community and Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, will be running a workshop from today through to Sunday.
Wiradjuri stories and dreaming will be expressed through the cloak; and this is an important opportunity for local Aboriginal people, particularly women and children, to learn the skills associated with possum skin cloak making.
8.05AM
ARE you a current or ex-student of All Saints' College right here in Bathurst?
There is a beautiful two-page spread in today's Western Advocate that helps mark the 140th years of the college.
Pick up your souvenir copy and read how the school they came from humble beginnings to a thriving community.
8.00AM
THE annual Craft and Art On Show is on this weekend at the Bathurst Showground.
Among the huge range of locally made items will be woodcraft and Christmas gift idea and everything is for sale at the huge event.
There will also be performances and displays across three pavilions, food and refreshments and high school choirs.
Why not come along to the showground from 9am on Saturday or Sunday.
7.54AM
WHO doesn't love a bargain!
With the weekend fast approaching why not advertise your garage sale with the Western Advocate.
Flick to page 29 of today's paper for more information or check out the ad below.
You can also call Tracy in the office from 9am on 6331 2611 or email her at classifieds.westernadvocate@ruralpress.com.
7.49AM
And in local sports
- A NEW preparation could be the key to a frustrating run of near misses in The Big Apple, or so Kurt Fearnley hopes anyway.
The champion Carcoar wheelchair racer has made a change to his usual approach to the New York Marathon, which will be held in the early hours of Monday Australian time.
- WHEN you take a sport and apply the word 'speed' in front of it, you know you're going to be in for one fun experience.
That has now been applied to badminton to provide the sport with a new angle, and a recent trip to Bathurst from Australian speed badminton captain Geoff Bannister helped showcase what it's all about.
7.42AM
IT'S time to clean out under your sink, in your garage or back shed for Bathurst Regional Council's household chemical clean out tomorrow.
The annual initiative offers householders the opportunity to dispose of unwanted chemicals free of charge.
Items accepted by Netwaste include: paint and paint-related products; pesticides and herbicides; pool chemicals; poisons; garden chemicals (e.g. weed killers); solvents (e.g. paint stripper); household chemicals (e.g. bleach and detergents); household cleaners; ammonia-based cleaners; floor care products; smoke detectors; fluorescent lightglobes and tubes; car batteries; motor oils, fuels and fluids; gas bottles; fire extinguishers; hobby chemicals; acids and alkalis.
Drop off your household chemicals to the Cooke Hockey Complex this Friday between 8am and 4pm.
7.36AM
HOW well do you know the NSW Rural Fire Service's new fire danger ratings?
Today in the Central Ranges there is a high fire danger - but what does that actually mean?
If you life in the Bathurst, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Lithgow, Mid-Western, Oberon or Orange council areas, make sure you know your risks and how to be prepared for the bushfire season.
Bushfire season in the Central Ranges runs from October 1, 2014 through to March 31, 2015.
Keep up-to-date by following the Rural Fire Service Chifley/Lithgow Team on Facebook.
7.31AM
WHY not get involved with the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (BLAECG) and make a difference in your local community.
They are meeting today at 1.45pm at Bathurst Public School.
Get involved today and make a difference. All welcome.
7.26AM
And across the country:
- PRIME Minister Tony Abbott was forced to defend his Treasurer on Wednesday as his government endured a tough question time over its plans to begin raising the fuel excise.
Treasurer Joe Hockey in August provoked a storm of protest for playing down the impact on low income earners of a potential twice-yearly hike in the fuel excise by saying "the poorest people either don't have cars or actually don't drive far in many cases."
- RICH countries such as Australia cannot protect themselves from the Ebola virus by retreating behind their borders, an Australian microbiologist has argued in an international medical journal.
The Abbott government is under pressure from Labor, the Greens, aid agencies and health groups to send personnel to Africa to back its financial contribution of $18 million.
- AUSTRALIA'S only female cabinet minister, Julie Bishop, does not describe herself as a feminist and says she does not find the term useful today.
"I don't find the need to self-describe in that way [as a feminist]," she said on Wednesday.
7.20AM
Making news around the Central West this morning
IT was a special occasion indeed when Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia chief executive officer Malcolm Coutts OAM was shown around the new Ronald McDonald House Orange yesterday.
A $750,000 project to transform a prominent site in the centre of Dubbo formerly used by Centrelink into an upmarket shopping space has received approval and a $72,000 concession break.
THE jewel in the Blue Mountains crown opens to the public tomorrow for the first time since a major refurbishment but 200 curious locals had a sneak preview at a high tea last Saturday.
7.09AM
Here's a quick snapshot of what's making news in Bathurst this morning.
- LOSING his driver's licence has made real estate agent John Fagan realise that riding a bicycle on the Eleven Mile Drive is risky business.
Mr Fagan, who lives on the busy back road that connects Eglinton with Kelso, is learning first-hand that pedal power has the potential for tragedy.
- THE impact of the loss of hundreds of mining jobs in Lithgow this week are expected to filter through to the wider Bathurst economy.
Lithgow residents were shocked on Tuesday by Centennial Coal's announcement it would close its Angus Place Colliery.
The shattering news meant 268 jobs would be lost from the facility at a time when the company had been planning to carry out a multi-million revamp of its underground operation.
- BATHURST'S telescope has dismantled from the Bathurst Goldfields and relocated it to his research facility on the Limekilns Road.
The telescope, which will be housed inside, has been specifically designed to carry out research for NASA's asteroid project, and it will play an integral role in providing the planet with early warning of asteroid strikes.
7AM
Good morning and welcome to today's edition of BathurstAM, you're with reporter Nadine Morton for rolling coverage of the latest news, sport and community events until 9am.
Looks like we're in for another wonderful spring day here in Bathurst. After a foggy start we should be in for a sunny day with a top of 27 degrees.
If you have any news tips send them through to me at nadine.morton@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
Keep an eye on the weather radar below.
